Willemijn van Dolen | “Life-changing bread” and a must-visit: Do big words help with reviews?

I was in Paris looking for a bakery near me. This is easily possible at random because there is one on almost every street corner, but I googled anyway. The ratings and reviews of several boulangeries caught my eye. One said, “So much good bread! I had amazing brioche loaf that is buttery soft and feels like a dream,” “The baguette was life-changing,” “For me, the best croissants I had on my trip, and I tried a fair few!!!”

The others read, “Honestly this might be the best food I ate in Paris. The bread was incredible and the goat cheese and honey focaccia was to die for.... A must-visit in Paris in my humble opinion,” and “I’ll be dreaming about that pistachio babka until I can go back for another!” Some customers were already planning another trip to Paris to visit the bakery in question. “Loved everything about this place❤️‍ already planning my next trip to Paris just to buy more of your pastries.”

I always look at reviews like this with a bit of skepticism. A must-visit in Paris? A life-changing baguette?!

Often just opposite from such positive reviews are very negative ones. “The worst traditional baguette in the neighborhood. So soft we could have tied a knot with it.” “After reading the raving reviews, I did not expect such dry croissants,” etc.

Scientifically, this is an interesting question: Do reviews filled with strong emotions help? According to research, no. The effect of arousal and excitement expressed in strong wording in a review proceeds like an inverted U. Reviews that are either overly “relaxed” or, conversely, overly “excited” are perceived as less helpful, even if they contain objectively useful and relevant information. A moderate level of emotional expression seems most effective. So express feelings, but don't overdo it. No capital letters and a minimum of exclamation points and expletives.

Then there’s the question of whether as a company, or in this case a baker, should you respond? Again, I saw different strategies. Some bakeries did not respond, others used a standard response, and still others gave a personal response. While research has not been conducted specifically on boulangeries, we can learn from research on the effect of responses by companies on online customer reviews.

That research shows that companies often respond to positive, negative, as well as neutral reviews. Reactions from companies predominantly result in a small increase in a company's rating, as well as an increase in the number of reviews. Interestingly, when companies begin to respond, they receive fewer but longer, negative reviews. Perhaps dissatisfied consumers are less inclined to leave short, indefensible reviews when they see that businesses are more likely to scrutinize them. This provides an interesting trade-off for businesses. If you respond, you will receive fewer negative reviews but longer and more detailed negative feedback.

Back to the French bakers. I’m fairly well-informed, so before I knew it I had lost myself in reading endless reviews. I was getting hungry and there was a bakery around the corner. While walking, I quickly scrolled through the reviews. A picture caught my eye, and I blinked to see if I was seeing it correctly. “A picture is worth a thousand words...A mouse tasting focaccia.” No exclamation points and no exaggeration - it looked like a very helpful review to me. The baker's response? “The hygiene and food safety of our customers are a daily concern...Unfortunately, the presence of food and especially flour (which mice love) complicates the task. However, you can rest assured that we will put all possible energy and resources at our disposal into this. Have a good day.”

I walked on just a bit more.